In an article in Crain’s last week, some of the candidates for Queens borough president spoke about how they would like to sell Queens as a “cool” place, much the way Brooklyn has positioned itself as a place on par with Manhattan as a must-visit spot for tourists.

“Marty’s done a very good job of it,” Katz was quoted as saying. “Marty took what Brooklyn has to offer and made it clear when tourists are coming to New York City, there’s plenty there. Queens has even more to offer, to be honest.”

Whoa, Ms. Katz – Marty may be on the diminutive side, but filling his shoes is a tall order. He’s pretty much a tireless advocate who is more than willing to poke fun at himself for his over-the-top Brooklyn boosterism in an effort to promote the borough, which in a way is its own sort of “cool.” In other words, Marty don’t give a...well, let’s just say he’s too cool to care what people think.

Now, we know that Melinda Katz is cool and a very talented singer, as well. We’ve often seen her grab a microphone and belt out the National Anthem, a Broadway hit or a Christmas carol. But we’re not sure how much panache that holds with the young jet-setting crowd the borough is looking to attract.

For example, are you aware that at a playground renaming for the late rapper and member of the Beastie Boys, Adam “MCA” Yauch, Markowitz actually busted out some rhymes? Now, we’re not going to sit here and try to convince you that Markowitz has mad skillz (sp?) or anything, but in the hip world of deep-pocketed tourists: Rap>Outer-Borough Off-Broadway, FWIW.

Which is our way of saying we think it would be a good idea if Katz rapped a little bit at the next borough president candidates’ forum, or perhaps as part of her duties as grand marshal of the Forest Hills Memorial Day Parade on May 26? Just a little bit for Pol Position!